


Heartbreak Hex

by SassyWordsmith



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Arguing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heartbreak, Moving On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyWordsmith/pseuds/SassyWordsmith
Summary: This is set in Hermione’s sixth year. Ron messes things up with Hermione, his girlfriend of a couple of weeks. Hermione is heartbroken and her closest female friend, Ginny tries to make her feel better. Ron attempts to fix his friendship with Hermione unsuccessfully. Hermione realizes that she’ll get over what happened with Ron as times passes.





	1. The Break-Up

**Author's Note:**

> Three stars signifies time passing as it would in J.K. Rowling's books.

**Hermione’s Pov**

The sight that greeted Hermione Granger when she came through the portrait hole caught her by surprise. It wasn’t the large number of Gryffindors that were laughing with drinks in their hands, playing games with each other and dancing in celebration of the successful Quidditch match. It was what she saw after that. Looking around for any signs of Ron Weasley, her boyfriend, she stiffened as she spotted him in a corner of the common room, snogging Lavender Brown, a girl who was in their year.

Hermione gasped as Ron wrapped his arms around Lavender’s waist while Lavender’s arms went up to wrap around his neck. It wasn’t until Hermione had been standing there for a moment with her mouth hanging slightly open in shock, that Ron stopped kissing Lavender, pulling back from her and opening his eyes.

Then, he caught sight of Hermione, and his eyes widened.

“Hermione!” he exclaimed, panic-stricken, letting go of Lavender. Hermione turned away from him. “Wait, Hermione, I’m sorry!” he cried out. Hermione dashed out back through the portrait hole, her bushy brown hair trailing behind her; Ron immediately chased after her.

“Hermione, just let me explain!” she heard him yell desperately.

She turned around sharply.

“What is there to explain exactly, Ronald?” she demanded. “You and Lavender Brown were wrapped up in a rather tight embrace.”

“It was nothing compared to kissing you,” he rushed to claim. “She came at me and-”

“Stop!” Hermione interrupted shrilly, feeling quite exasperated. “Don’t even try making excuses. Just leave me alone.”

With that, she pulled out her wand and shot a hex at him nonverbally, causing Ron to start sneezing uncontrollably as she hurried into an unlocked classroom.

She sank to the ground against the wooden door, tears trailing down her cheeks. She sat there with her knees drawn up to her chest, her head buried in her arms, her body shaking with sobs.

**Ron’s Pov**

After the sneezing hex had worn off, Ron headed back towards the Gryffindor common room. Just as he reached the portrait hole, it was opened to reveal his younger sister, Ginny. Ginny glared as soon as she saw him, placing her hands on her hips the way that their mother would when she was angry.

Taking a step closer to him, Ginny smacked her hand across his cheek hard.

“What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded

“Ow!” Ron swore under his breath, rubbing his cheek where she had hit him.

“Well?” Ginny prompted impatiently. “You have nothing to say for yourself?”

Ron guiltily rubbed the back of his neck.

“It sorta just happened,” he murmured, looking down. He knew his ears must be red. “It was very sudden. Lavender seemed drunk but she just came at me and I kissed her back without thinking.”

Ginny rolled her eyes.

“When you’re dating someone, Ron, it matters whom you kiss!” she exclaimed incredulously.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he muttered in response.

“Like what? Like you’re a small child having trouble understanding a simple concept?” Ginny suggested.

“Look, I know I messed up.” Ron gave an agitated sigh, running his fingers through his hair. “I never meant to hurt her like this. I need to talk to her.”

“No, you’re going to leave her alone,” Ginny snapped. “I doubt she wants to see you right now.”

Knowing there must be some truth to this, Ron gave the password to the Fat Lady.

**Ginny’s Pov**

Ginny found Hermione in the nearest unlocked classroom. The desks inside were arranged in neat little rows and copies of _The Standard Book of Spells_ laid on each one. Professor Flitwick, the teacher that taught Charms in this classroom to first-year through seventh-year students was nowhere to be seen. Hermione, however, was sitting on his desk in the front of the room.

A flock of birds that she seemingly had conjured were twittering and circling her head. As Ginny approached her, Hermione pulled out her wand from her robes and gave it a wave, causing the birds to vanish. She must have been planning on telling whoever came in that she was just practicing charms, Ginny thought.

Hermione clearly had been crying though, judging by her puffy red eyes. Instinctively, Ginny held her arms out, silently offering her friend a hug. Hermione reacted instantly, putting away her wand and standing up. Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione, squeezing her affectionately. Hermione hugged her back and the two stayed like that for a moment before they broke apart. The hug seemed to have made Hermione feel slightly better; she didn’t look as sad as before.

“You know I could go find my poor excuse for a brother and use the bat-bogey hex on him,” Ginny volunteered, clenching her jaw at the thought of Ron and his insensitivity. She was becoming fed up with his lack of tact.

Hermione shook her head in response, sitting back on the teacher’s desk.

“Stay with me?” she mumbled.

Ginny nodded and Hermione scooted over so Ginny could sit next to her. Hermione leaned her head against Ginny’s shoulder and Ginny wrapped an arm around her again.

“What I don’t understand is why he couldn’t have just broken things off with me,” Hermione said suddenly, her voice shaking slightly. Her brown eyes were starting to water again, but she blinked the tears back, folding her arms across her chest and scowling.

“I can’t believe that instead, he chose to cheat on me with Lavender Brown,” she said sharply. “We’ve been dating for a couple of weeks and I thought things were going well. Clearly, I was wrong. You certainly wouldn’t see me prancing around snogging strangers when I want to dump the person I'm with. They don't even know anything about each other and since when has he shown an interest in her? Sure, she's flirted with him and he was flattered, but he never flirts back.”

“Yeah, who knows what Ron was thinking. He probably wasn’t thinking. If he had been thinking then he would’ve realized that you’re a much better catch than Lavender Brown and left her alone,” Ginny opined. “Trust me, you deserve so much better than my brother. He’s an idiot for doing what he did and he’ll regret it soon enough.”

At that moment the classroom door was slowly opened. A tall, lanky, figure with fiery red hair and a freckled complexion stood outside.

“Speak of the devil,” Ginny murmured to herself.

“Hermione, can we talk?” Ron asked tentatively.

Ginny rose from the desk.

“Ron, I already told you to leave her alone,” she said, irritated.

Ron ignored her, looking to Hermione for an answer.

“We’ve already talked,” Hermione said, her face blank and her voice steady. “I assume that you’ve already figured out that we’re through. You really shouldn’t be keeping Lavender Brown waiting in the boys’ dormitory much longer.”

Ron started stuttering and Hermione calmly stood up, looking as though she was going to leave. However, halfway to the door, she drew her wand, conjured another flock of birds, and spun around as fast as a speeding bullet, pointing her wand at Ron.

“Oppugno!” The birds swirling around her shot at Ron. He yelped as one hit its mark, pecking his arm. He made for the door, but it was too late. They were all upon him, scratching and clawing at his flesh. Ron flailed his arms everywhere in an effort to drive them away.

Hermione lowered her wand, seeming satisfied. Then her face started to crumble. She pushed past Ron, rushing out of the classroom and slamming the door behind her.

***


	2. The Aftermath

**Ginny's Pov**

Ginny and her brother sat on the couch in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fireplace. It was very dark; the only light they had was that which was provided by the flames. Ron hadn’t been able to sleep and _of course,_  had needed to wake up Ginny.

Ginny rubbed at her eyes wearily and turned to Ron with an annoyed look on her face.

“This just couldn’t wait until the morning?” she said impatiently.

“Hermione hasn’t spoken to me in weeks,” Ron murmured, his head down. “I don’t know what to do and wanted your advice.”

Ginny groaned loudly. “Ron, are you effing serious? I was woken up because you can’t possibly fix things with Hermione by yourself?” Ron flinched slightly at her tone but didn’t say anything in response. “I don’t blame her for not talking to you,” Ginny continued bluntly. “Did you expect her to be _happy_ after what you did? You told Hermione you really liked her and then went off snogging Lavender Brown. So, yeah, Hermione’s been avoiding you because she’s pissed off and hurt.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do about it now?” Ron asked. “I feel guilty and want to apologize. I know she didn’t deserve what I did. I was thinking about breaking up with her but I wasn’t planning on doing it like that-”

Ginny was incredulous at this revelation.

“Wait,” she cut in, “you were going to break up with Hermione? Why? Ron, she’s brilliant. She helps you and Harry with your homework and manages to get the two of you out of trouble all the time. She’s at the top of nearly _all_ her classes-”

“I know!” Ron exclaimed. “Her intelligence is intimidating! When we were together I felt pressured to act differently. I felt like I’d be expected to start doing my work on time and pay attention in class and be super sweet. I started having doubts about whether the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing was going to work.”

Ginny was silent for a moment. She understood now.

“You kissed Lavender back because you thought it wouldn’t matter, didn’t you?” she said slowly, having put the pieces together. “You felt like you weren’t good enough for Hermione anyway.”

“I don’t think that’s the reason I kissed Lavender,” Ron said, sounding uncertain all the same. “I told you, it sorta just happened.”

Ginny nodded but to her, it seemed like Ron had kissed Lavender because he had been feeling insecure. Ginny would leave him to figure that out on his own. It seemed like he wouldn’t be able to comprehend why he had kissed Lavender yet.

Even now that Ginny knew the real reason her brother had acted like such an idiot, it didn’t make her feel any less angry with him. Ron had really hurt Hermione’s feelings. Ginny only felt slightly bad for him. He had to work on not second-guessing himself.

Ron sighed. “So, how do I fix my friendship with Hermione?” he inquired.

“Well, you can try apologizing and if she won’t hear it then, you can’t work things out right now,” Ginny replied. She rose from the couch, yawning. “I know Hermione and I’m pretty sure she’ll forgive you eventually if you really are sorry. She needs space is all.”

Maybe it was because Ginny was so tired that she wasn’t thinking straight, but she offered a few words of comfort to her brother.

"Don’t be too tough on yourself,” she said quietly, placing a hand on Ron’s shoulder. “There are worse things you could have done. Now, get some sleep. You’ll need it for classes tomorrow.”

Ron nodded.

“Thanks for trying to make me feel better,” he told her, seeming a bit surprised but appreciative.

***

 

**Hermione's Pov**

Saturday morning, Hermione was seated in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room by the fire, reading _Hogwarts: A History._  She had already eaten breakfast in the Great Hall. The common room was mostly empty. Aside from Hermione, there was only a small group of friends chatting quietly among themselves in a corner; most of the Gryffindors were either having breakfast or still sleeping.

The lack of noise made it perfect for reading. She could enjoy her favorite book in peace. The only disturbances were the occasional loud chirping of birds and the sound of students descending one of the staircases and leaving through the portrait hole. That was until someone tapped her on the shoulder. After looking up to see a figure with a freckled complexion and a head of fiery red hair, she went back to her book.

“Hermione, I want to talk to you,” Ron said, undeterred. Hermione turned the page. He could talk all he wanted, but that didn’t mean she would listen. “Hermione, please look at me,” he tried again. “All I want is to apologize.”

“ _Oh. "_  Hermione shut her book, finally meeting his gaze. “I’m sorry. This must be the part where I’m supposed to make you feel better by listening to your heartfelt apology or rather to the list of excuses you have for cheating on me,” she said scornfully. “Well, let’s hear it, _Ronald._ ”

She folded her arms across her chest and then, not giving him a chance to respond, gave an exaggerated fake gasp.

“Wait, I know! It was too much _pressure_ , wasn’t it?” she inquired witheringly. “Ginny filled me in. You were so concerned that others were going to expect more of you because you were dating me, who is thought to be the brightest witch of her age. Well, let me tell you, you didn’t have to go snogging Lavender Brown because you couldn’t handle the supposed expectations of dating me. You could’ve just broken things o-”

“I was going to!” Ron insisted. “During the celebrations, Lavender was drunk and she-she came at me. I kissed her back without thinking. It wasn’t planned. I stopped once I realized what I was doing. I never meant to hurt you-”

Hermione burst into derisive laughter.

“What a bang-up job you did,” she remarked sarcastically. “If you plan on snogging other girls while you’re with Lavender Brown, you might as well break up with her now,” she suggested harshly. “Wouldn’t want to break another person’s heart right?”

Hermione slung her bag over her shoulder and stalked off huffily towards the girls’ dormitories, wrenching the door open to her dorm and slamming it shut behind her.

She threw her things down on her bed, repeating Ron’s words while imitating his voice.

“ _I kissed her back without thinking. I never meant to hurt you.”_

She scoffed. “Did he think that I wasn’t going to be hurt after he kissed another girl? Had he suspected that I was going to start jumping for joy and announce to everyone that my boyfriend was snogging someone else?”

She flopped onto her bed, picking up her book again and opening up to the part she had been reading. Ron definitely wasn’t worth her tears, she thought, fuming still.


	3. Moving Forward

**Ginny's Pov**

Sunday afternoon, after Quidditch practice, Ginny decided that she would see if she could convince Hermione to take a break from doing school work. The last few days, Hermione had been putting all of her time and effort into studying for classes or completing assignments; Ginny was frankly becoming concerned about her and thought it would be a good idea for Hermione to get out and have some fun.

With this in mind, she made her way towards the school library, assuming that she would find Hermione there. Indeed, once Ginny had reached the library, she spotted Hermione browsing the shelves, a thoughtful expression on her face. Harry was behind her and speaking to her. As Ginny approached them, Hermione took a book labeled _Advanced Rune Translation_ off a shelf before turning to Harry.

“Harry, I don’t know if I should,” she said, sounding uncertain. “I have so much work to do.” She then caught sight of Ginny and smiled; Ginny noticed that it didn’t reach her eyes though.

“What do you not know if you should do?” Ginny asked her friend.

“Harry wants me to go into Hogsmeade with him,” Hermione replied.

Ginny grinned.

“I think that would be a great idea,” she opined. “You’ve been doing a lot of work lately. You should take a break for a while.”

Hermione frowned.

“How am I supposed to finish all of my assignments if I take a break?”

“Mione, you can continue doing work later,” Harry pointed out. “Right now, you should do something that isn’t school related.”

Ginny quickly nodded her head in agreement.

“I’ve been kinda worried about you,” she admitted. “Would you please go into Hogsmeade with me and Harry?”

Hermione gave a small sigh.

“All right, I’ll go,” she said, finally giving in.

Ginny squealed, wrapping her arms around Hermione and squeezing tight.

“Thank you!” she exclaimed. “We haven’t done anything in so long. You won’t regret this!”

Hermione smiled, really smiled. This time it did reach her eyes and Ginny was glad. After the girls had hugged, they headed to the Gryffindor common room with Harry in tow. The three of them parted ways to get properly dressed for the weather outside.

 

**Hermione's Pov**

Hermione waited for Ginny and Harry at the Entrance Hall. Over her Hogwarts robes, Hermione wore a long buttoned-up coat, a striped red scarf with a matching winter hat, and mittens. She had also tied her hair back in a plait.

Once Ginny and Harry had arrived, the three of them made their way past the caretaker, Filch and into the village of Hogsmeade. Third years had to check in with Filch with permission slips signed by their parents, allowing them to go to Hogsmeade on the weekends. Since Harry, Hermione and Ginny had all already shown Flich their permission slips in their third years though, they didn’t have to again and were free to go.

First, they decided that they would stop at a pub called The Three Broomsticks. Ginny and Hermione found a table while Harry went up to the bartender to buy them drinks. In two trips, he brought back three hot butterbeers in foaming tankards. Hermione thankfully took a large drink of hers as it was very cold outside.

“Where should we go next?” she asked, wiping the foam off her mouth with the back of her hand. Neither Harry or Ginny gave a response, contently drinking their butterbears. Hermione was about to suggest that they go to Tomes and Scrolls, a specialist bookshop when she heard the sound of a bell twinkling. She absently looked over her shoulder at the pub entrance. Ron had stepped inside with a giggling Lavender at his side. The two of them were holding hands and looked so happy. Hermione wondered whether Ron had ever looked that happy when they were together. She turned away from them.

Taking a deep breath, she quickly schooled her features into an expression of indifference. However, once Ron and Lavender had passed by the table Hermione was sitting at with Harry and Ginny, Hermione frowned.

“Think we could get going?” she inquired to Ginny and Harry as casually as she could manage.

Ginny, who was seated across from Hermione, had a direct view of Lavender and Ron speaking to the bartender. Understanding why Hermione wanted to leave, she nodded and elbowed Harry. Harry followed Ginny’s gaze to Ron and Lavender; he chugged the rest of his butterbeer.

“Yeah, we can go,” he said.

Hermione got up gratefully, pushing in her chair. She waited a moment for Harry and Ginny before walking towards the pub exit. She held the door open for them.

“So, Tomes and Scrolls?” she asked, her voice unnaturally high.

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

“Where ever you wanna go,” Ginny replied.

Hermione lead the way to Tomes and Scrolls. Once they went inside and she was surrounded by shelves of books, she felt much better. There were so many books that she could buy and read. Harry and Ginny followed Hermione as she looked around. One title, in particular, caught Hermione’s attention: Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms. Taking the book off the shelf, she opened it up and flipped through the pages, reading their contents.

Just as Hermione was about to go pay for the book, Harry stumbled into her, causing her to bump into a nearby bookshelf.

“Harry! Be more careful!” she scolded.

Then, seeing that only a couple of books had fallen to the ground, she blushed slightly. Ginny and Harry burst into laughter and Hermione joined them. It had been a so like herself thing to do to scold Harry for making her bump into a bookshelf. Standing there, laughing with her friends, Hermione realized that sure, sometimes she would feel sad about how things had gone with her and Ron but she would always have her friends to make her feel better. That was all that mattered. With her friends by her side, she could get through anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Check out my other fanfics: 
> 
> Thing For a Ginger (HP fandom)  
> The Boy Who Is Loved (HP fandom)  
> Falling In Love (Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell fandom)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The following things are taken from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:  
> -Hermione conjuring birds twice and sending them at Ron the second time.  
> -Ron snogging Lavender after a successful Quidditch game.  
> -Hermione fleeing to an unlocked classroom after seeing Ron kissing Lavender.
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments below!


End file.
